


somebody that i used to know

by orphan_account



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Family Dynamics, Fluff, Gen, Martin has the most chaotic uncles, No Romance, Post 05x12, Reunion, We didn't get a reunion so I'm fucking doing it myself, Wholesome
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-26
Updated: 2019-04-26
Packaged: 2020-02-07 03:37:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18612325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: A unexpected visitor interrupts an afternoon of scheming.





	somebody that i used to know

**Author's Note:**

> 05x12 took my heart and threw it into trash, but the nygmobblepot scenes were fucking hilarious  
> no necessary spoilers for the finale, just a little headcanon me and a follower of mine came up with  
> it's 2am and this isn't proofread, sorry lol

Oswald was cranky. This was nothing new nowadays, so Edward practically ignored the older man as he walked past him sulking in an armchair. It had been two weeks since they had been stopped by this bat guy and they were getting nowhere on their research. Not only was it difficult to work safely with the entire GCPD breathing into their necks – to be fair, one of them had tried to murder the commissioner and the other had almost blown up their mayor – but now they had to worry about this goddamn vigilante justice superhero that seemed to have popped out of thin air. Ed wasn’t the type to operate in the shadows, so his patience was wearing thin, too.

“We’ve got to come up with a plan before you die of alcohol poisoning”, Ed said, rolling up his sleeves and glancing at Oswald from the corner of his eye.

“I’ve survived this long, Edward”, he responded and downed yet another glass. Ed had always been impressed by the amount of alcohol Oswald could take, and the number of drinks only seemed to have increased now that he had... more skin around his bones. “What do you suggest we do? Go punch Bat Boy in the face?” he scoffed and poured another shot.

“Well, we should start by figuring out who the hell we’re up against”, Ed pondered out loud and furrowed his brows. The wrinkles on his forehead had become such a frequent thing they’d end up being permanent sooner than he’d like. He might have been nearing his 43rd birthday, but that was not something he was willing to admit.

“Not like we’ve been trying to do that for the past two weeks!” Oswald was starting to lose his temper. Ed was going to defend himself, but the sound of the doorbell interrupted their bickering. Oswald immediately grabbed the gun he had been eyeing on the coffee table and looked at Ed.

“I don’t think anyone who’d want to hurt us would ring a doorbell?” Edward said, weighing the options in his head.

“Better safe than sorry”, Oswald chucked the gun at Ed who caught it mid-air with one hand, and then went back to his beloved booze. Great, Ed thought as he made his way into the stairs. So _he_ was the target of the first bullet now. He swiftly moved downstairs right as the doorbell rang the second time. Whoever it was seemed to not be giving up. He was becoming more suspicious by the second, but at the same time he didn’t really feel like he was in danger. If it was the GCPD, they would have already busted the door open and not politely wait behind it, and no one really even knew about their location. From the outside, the Van Dahl mansion was merely a ruin, but it was still fully functionable from the inside.

He stopped in front of the door and peered out of the peephole. The glass had cracked at it was nearly impossible to make out who was on the other side. All he could see was that there was a singular person, who also looked unarmed. Not anyone he immediately recognized. Definitely not Commissioner Gordon. Sighing, he loaded the gun and swung the door open with a flourish. He fell into slight confusion as he looked at their guest.

It was a young man, probably in his very late teens or early twenties, one of whom Edward had never seen in his life. He was an average height and skinny from what he could tell behind the well-fitted black suit, and his brown hair was styled on a very prominent quiff. A single earring was dangling off his ear, but other than that he looked very... basic. After Ed had blatantly eyed the youngster up and down, he finally looked him in the eyes and tilted his head a bit.

“You need something, kid? My hand is starting to get tired”, he shook his aiming hand slightly in order to make it clear that he wasn’t playing around. The young man didn’t respond, but instead reached into his pocket.

“Hey, no guns-“, Ed started but realized the boy had merely pulled out a piece of paper, neatly folded. He handed it over and Ed grabbed it, eyeing him suspiciously. Nygma thought for a second before putting Oswald’s gun into his back pocket and unfolded the paper. Ed took note how pretty the handwriting was, slightly envious when he remembered his own messy one, and read through the note.

_I need to meet with Mr. Penguin. He’ll understand, and will be very upset if you shoot me, Mr. Riddler._

Ed raised his head with a dumbfounded expression, and they spent a moment just looking at one another. The stranger didn’t even blink, just stared ahead blankly and gave Edward a very small, polite smile.

“We weren’t expecting visitors, but uhh...”, Ed looked over his shoulder as if someone had been there to pull him out of trouble. He turned back after composing himself and gave a dashing bright smile. “We’d be delighted to have some company!” He stepped out of the way and gestured the man to follow him. He did, with no questions asked.

Oswald was still keeping company to his precious bottle of booze when Ed arrived into the lounge area, the stranger in tow. Edward felt slightly offended how carefree the man looked – it was like Ed hadn’t just risked his life by answering the door. He sighed as he entered the room and cleared his throat. “Someone wanted to _meet you_ ”, he said and gained Oswald’s attention at last.

“Oh, good. You’re not dead”, Oswald smirked and moved his gaze upon the third man in the room. His expression changed from amused to confused to slightly shocked all within five seconds.

“You know this guy?” Ed asked and pointed at the boy politely standing slightly behind him with arms behind his back. Oswald got up faster than Ed had expected him to, taking the blood alcohol percentage and body mass into account, and limped up to the pair of brunettes. He shoved Ed coldly aside to get a better look at their unexpected guest. The expression on the young man’s face had also changed slightly as he looked at the man before him. Then, he pulled out another piece of paper from his pocket and handed it over to Oswald.

Ed focused on Oswald’s face as the mismatched pair of eyes moved through the note. What Edward had _not_ expected was for Cobblepot to start trembling at that moment. For a moment Edward already cursed the alcohol poisoning, until he realized that Oswald’s eyes were filled with tears. He threw the paper on the floor and attacked the boy with a rib-crushing hug. Flabbergasted, Ed hurried to pick up the abandoned piece of paper and read through it.

“No way”, was all he could say and looked at the young man, who was not trying to get his arms freed enough to respond to the hug. The cogs were turning in his head at record speed. Actually, yeah. The boy had looked ever so slightly familiar upon initial meeting... Of course. God damn it. Oswald only let go of the boy to catch his breath, still holding him from his arms.

“I can’t believe it”, Oswald’s voice was quite unstable, and Edward couldn’t help but literally give a helping hand by grabbing the shorter man by the shoulder. “Is it really you? Martin?”

“Yes.”

The whole scene froze for a second when the wave of realization hit them. Their reactions could not have been further from each other. Oswald yipped like a dog that had just gotten a new toy and lunged at the man with another hug, Ed took a step back with a dumbfounded expression.

“You are here, in Gotham?!”

“You can _talk?!_ ”

“Oh yeah, what the hell?” Oswald realized the change far later than Edward had and forced himself to once again let go of the boy. “I- what?”

“Selective mutism, Mr. Penguin.” Martin’s voice was very monotone and soft, quiet in volume. No particular accent. Ed figured it was due to the fact that he didn’t use it much. “I promised myself that if I ever got the chance to come back, I would talk to you.” Oswald’ eyes were still welled with tears, but now they were really threatening to fall out. He took a deep sigh and removed his monocle.

“I don’t know what to say”, his voice cracked in the middle of the sentence and finally he broke into tears. “I thought I’d never see you again...”

“It’s been like twelve years”, Edward joined the conversation, rubbing Oswald’s back soothingly. “Why return now?”

“You were imprisoned. Now you’re not”, Martin pointed out and Ed gave a crooked smile.

“Oh yeah. True.”

They spent a long time just sitting in the lounge room, talking. Well, Edward talked, Martin gave short responses and reduced back into writing if he had something more to say, and Oswald was still sobbing like a child. As it turns out, Martin had made quite the life for himself in the mainland. Not only was he wealthy, he was also one of the most respected crime lords in the underworld of his living area. Ed had snorted upon hearing that, but Martin had been fully serious. He wasn’t a talkative guy, but he had gotten a good system up and had actually loyal allies, not just ones bought with money. People believed in him. Respected him. Feared him. Oswald had spent the following fifteen minutes blabbering how incredibly proud of Martin he was.

“So what’s your next move? Tell us everything”, Ed finally got the conversation back on track and reached for his nearly empty glass of booze. He didn’t particularly like the taste, but after this news bomb he really needed something stronger than apple juice.

“I want to live here”, Martin said and twirled the glass in his hand. Ed noticed it was a nearly identical move to what Oswald liked doing when he was in his thoughts. Like father like son, he thought and smiled secretly.

“You mean in Gotham?” Oswald asked and brushed a hand through his hair. “Not something a lot of people say. You’ve heard the news of our new vigilante hero, right?”

“I mean here. In this house”, Martin’s voice was so quiet they could barely make out the words, which is why Ed had thought he was mistaken at first. He tried to look into the boy’s brown eyes, but he had lowered his head and was fumbling with his bowtie. “If it’s okay.”

Oswald let out an inaudible gasp and looked at Martin, eyes so wide he looked slightly insane. “Absolutely? We- it would be more than I could’ve asked for! Right, Ed?”

“Of course”, Ed didn’t know why he felt so sentimental all of sudden. There was a piece of something stuck in his throat and his eyes were burning a little. “Stay as long as you wish.”

“I’m just so glad you’re doing this. I know I haven’t exactly been the best or most secure father figure”, Oswald laughed through his teary eyes. Martin’s expression turned more serious.

“What are you talking about? You’re the best dad I ever had.”

“To be fair, he’s the only dad you ever had. Not much competition”, Ed couldn’t help himself and grinned when Oswald glared at him.

“Still”, Martin stifled a small laugh and looked at Ed. “You too, Mr. Riddler. You saved my life and I’m forever thankful for that.” Ed wasn’t prepared for the level of genuine gratitude he received, and his face fell a bit when the feels hit him.

“I-“, he didn’t know what to say. He closed his eyes for a second and took a breath. “Can I hug you?” he finally asked.

“Of course”, Martin answered without a second thought and stood up from the loveseat he had been sitting on. He raised his arms, awaiting. Ed rose too, still wondering when he became such a sappy guy as he put his arms around the smaller man. He had never had a very close relationship with him, but something in the way how Martin answered the hug so willingly made his heart melt. He flinched a bit when he felt another pair of arms around him, only to realize that Oswald had felt left out and joined the embrace. Damn, Ed thought, closing his eyes and burying his face into the boy’s neck. He could get used to this. To being a part of a family.


End file.
